Anthony Bloom (Metropolitan of Sourozh (1914- 2003)
Μετὰ ἀπὸ τὶς ἑβδομάδες τῆς προετοιμασίας ποὺ προηγήθηκαν, κατὰ τὶς ὁποῖες ἐξετάσαμε τὴν ψυχή μας, τὴ ζωή μας, ὅλες τὶς σχέσεις μας ἐνώπιον τοῦ βλέμματος καὶ τῆς κρίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, μπαίνουμε σήμερα στὴ Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστὴ - στὴ χαρὰ τῆς Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστῆς. Ἡ Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστὴ συμπίπτει μὲ τὴν ἄνοιξη - εἶναι μία ἀρχὴ ζωῆς, μία ἀρχὴ καινότητας, μία νέα ἐποχή. Εἶναι μία περίοδος κατὰ τὴν ὁποία δὲν θέλουμε πιὰ νὰ θυμόμαστε τὶς ἁμαρτίες μας, δὲν θέλουμε πιὰ νὰ φέρνουμε στὸ νοῦ μας εἰκόνες ἀπὸ παραβολὲς γιὰ τὴν πίστη καὶ τὴ μετάνοια, ἀλλὰ νὰ ἀτενίζουμε τοὺς Ἁγίους ποὺ ἄρχισαν τὴ ζωὴ τους ὅπως κι ἐμεῖς: εὔθραυστοι, ἀδύναμοι, ἀμφιταλαντευόμενοι, ἀλλὰ μὲ τὴ χάρη τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴ δύναμή Του ἔγιναν αὐτὸ ποὺ ἔγιναν: ἄνδρες, γυναῖκες, παιδιὰ ποὺ ἐμεῖς τώρα μποροῦμε νὰ τιμοῦμε, μὲ τοὺς ὁποίους μποροῦμε νὰ εὐφραινόμαστε, νὰ τοὺς ἔχουμε ὡς παράδειγμα καὶ νὰ ἀπευθυνόμαστε σὲ αὐτοὺς ζητώντας τους νὰ προσεύχονται γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία μας.
Ἀπόψε, ἀρχίζουμε ἕνα ταξίδι· ἕνα ταξίδι ποὺ θὰ μᾶς ὁδηγήσει ἀπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτωλή μας κατάσταση -τὴν ἀναγνωρίσαμε, μετανοοῦμε γι' αὐτὴν-σὲ μία νέα ἐποχή, στὴν Ἀνάσταση τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποὺ γιὰ μᾶς σηματοδοτεῖ τὴν ἔναρξη τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς μας. Ξεκινᾶμε τὸ ταξίδι μας ἀπόψε ὅπως ὁ λαὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ξεκίνησε ἀπὸ τὴ γῆ τῆς Αἰγύπτου πρὸς τὴ Γῆ τῆς Ἐπαγγελίας: εἴμαστε ἀκόμη εὐάλωτοι, βαρυφορτωμένοι, ὄχι ἀπόλυτα ἐλεύθεροι. Τὸ θάρρος ὅμως καὶ τὴν ἔμπνευση γιὰ νὰ φτάσουμε στὴν τελικὴ νίκη, στὴν καινότητα τῆς ζωῆς ποὺ εἶναι ἡ κλήση μας καὶ ἡ ὑπόσχεση τοῦ Θεοῦ, δὲν θὰ τὸ βροῦμε κοιτάζοντας πίσω τὸν ἑαυτό μας, ἀλλὰ ἀτενίζοντας τὸν Ζῶντα Θεό, ποὺ εἶναι ἡ Ζωὴ καὶ ἡ σωτηρία, καὶ τοὺς Ἁγίους ποὺ νίκησαν μὲ τὴ δική Του δύναμη. Θὰ πρέπει νὰ ταξιδέψουμε μαζὶ καὶ ἂς μὴν ἔχουμε ψευδαισθήσεις: θὰ εἴμαστε δύσκολοι συνοδοιπόροι ὁ ἕνας γιὰ τὸν ἄλλο, ἀλλὰ θὰ στηριζόμαστε ὁ ἕνας στὸν ἄλλον ἂν θέλουμε νὰ φθάσουμε τελικὰ στὸ σκοπό μας - κατὰ τὸν ἴδιο τρόπο ποὺ oι Ἰσραηλίτες διάβηκαν τὴν ἔρημο: δὲν ἦταν πάντα ὑπάκουοι στὸ Θεό, οὔτε πάντα "ἐντάξει" μεταξύ τους, ὡστόσο, χρειάζονταν τὸν κάθε ἄλλον γιὰ νὰ φθάσουν στὸ ὑπεσχημένο τέλος.
Ἂς ξεκινήσουμε λοιπὸν τώρα· ἂς σκεφθοῦμε τί γιορτάζουμε τὴν ἑπόμενη Κυριακή: τὸν θρίαμβο τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας. Ὄχι τὸν θρίαμβο τῶν Ὀρθοδόξων ἐπὶ ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ τὸν θρίαμβο τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Τὸν θρίαμβο τῆς Ἀλήθειάς Του, τὸν θρίαμβό Του στὴ ζωή μας.
Καὶ στὴ συνέχεια, ἂς δοῦμε τὸν ἕναν ἅγιο μετὰ τὸν ἄλλον, κι ἂς ἀκούσουμε τί ἔχουν νὰ μᾶς ποῦν: Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς, Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, Μαρία ἡ Αἰγυπτία καὶ ὅλοι ὅσοι ἀκολούθησαν τὰ ἴχνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ τέλος θὰ φθάσουμε στὸ σημεῖο ποὺ θὰ πρέπει νὰ ξεχάσουμε ὅλους καὶ ὅλα, δὲν θὰ θυμόμαστε τίποτε, κανέναν, παρὰ μόνον τὸν Κύριο Ἰησοῦ Χριστό: Ποιὸς εἶναι, τί ἔχει κάνει γιά μᾶς, τί κάνει γιά μᾶς; Ἂς μάθουμε ὅλες αὐτὲς τὶς ἑβδομάδες νὰ ξεχνᾶμε τὸν ἑαυτό μας, χαρούμενοι καὶ εὐγνώμονες ποὺ μποροῦμε τώρα νὰ τὸ κάνουμε, καὶ νὰ κοιτάζουμε μόνο πρὸς τὸ Θεό. Καὶ ὅταν γιὰ ἄλλη μία φορά, ἔρθει ἡ ἑβδομάδα τοῦ Πάθους, μ' ἕνα καινούριο τρόπο, μὲ καινούρια ἀπόφαση, μὲ καινούρια παραίτηση ἀπὸ τὸν ἑαυτό μας θὰ στραφοῦμε καὶ θὰ κοιτάζουμε τὸ Θεὸ ποὺ ἔγινε ἄνθρωπος γιὰ νὰ σωθοῦμε· μὲ εὐγνωμοσύνη ἂς θυμόμαστε μόνον Αὐτὸν καὶ Ἐκεῖνος θὰ μᾶς θυμηθεῖ γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία μας.
Πρωτότυπο Κείμενο
SUNDAY OF FORGIVENESS
LITURGY
12 March 1989
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
After these weeks of preparation during which we have examined our soul, our lives, all our relationship before the eyes and the judgement of God, we enter today into the joy of Lent; the joy of Lent. The word ‘lent’ means the spring; it is a beginning, and a beginning of life, a beginning of newness, a new time. It is a time when we will no longer be reminded of our own sins, no longer be confronted with images in parables of fall and repentance, but faced with the names of Saints who have started their lives as we start them: the frail, weak, vacillating, but who by the grace of God, by the power of God have become what they are: men, women, children whom we can venerate, in whom we can rejoice, who can be set as examples to us, to whom we can turn for their prayers unto salvation.
Tonight we will start on this journey; on the journey that leads us from our sinful condition, recognised, repentant unto a new time, unto the Resurrection of Christ which is the beginning for us of our own eternal life. We will start on this journey to-night as the people of Israel started from the land of Egypt for the Promised Land: still frail, still burdened, still incompletely free. But it is not by looking back at ourselves, but by looking towards the Living God Who is Life and salvation, and to the example of those who have been victorious by the power of God that we will find courage,
inspiration to come to the final victory, to the newness of life which is our calling and God’s promise. We will have to journey together, and we must not be in any delusion: we will be difficult for one another as companions on the journey; but we will depend on one another if we want to achieve to come to an end, — in the same way in which the Israelites were in the desert: not always obedient to God, not always loyal to one another, and yet, needing each other in order to reach the promised goal.
So, let us start now; let us think of the feast which we keep next Sunday: Triumph of Orthodoxy. It is not the triumph of the Orthodox over anyone else; it is the triumph of God over people. The triumph of His truth, the triumph of God in the lives of people.
And than, let us look at one saint after the other, and listen to what he has got to say to us: Gregory Palamas, John of the Ladder, Mary of Egypt and all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ. And we will then reach the point at which we must forget everyone and everything, and remember nothing, no one but the Lord Jesus Christ: what He is, what He has done for us, what He is doing for us. Let us learn to forget ourselves in the course of those weeks, joyfully, gratefully, that we can now turn away from ourselves and look only Godwards. And when the time of Passion week comes, again, in a new way, with a new determination, with a new renunciation to ourselves, turn and look at God Who has become man that we may be saved, and be grateful, forget ourselves, remember only Him and He will remember us unto salvation. Amen.
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